Press Play with Madeleine Brand: California case: free speech v. abortion rightsCrisis pregnancy centers are generally run by pro-life groups that aim to convince pregnant women not to get abortions. A California law requires that employees tell their clients that the state offers free and low-cost abortions and other family planning services. Now a group of these centers is arguing that the law violates their freedom of speech.

UnFictionalUnbelievably true stories of chance encounters that changed the world. A pair of mail-order shoes that led to the film The Outsiders. A secret road to a California paradise. The day LA and smog first met. Stories that will stick in your head like a memory. It’s UnFictional, hosted by Bob Carlson.

The DocumentThe Document is a new kind of mash-up between documentaries and radio. It goes beyond clips and interviews, mining great stories from the raw footage of documentaries present, past and in-progress. A new episode is available every other Wednesday on iTunes and wherever fine podcasts are downloaded.

To the PointA weekly reality-check on the issues Americans care about most. Host Warren Olney draws on his decades of experience to explore the people and issues shaping – and disrupting - our world. How did everything change so fast? Where are we headed? The conversations are informal, edgy and always informative. If Warren's asking, you want to know the answer.

FROM THIS EPISODE

Some 80 million Americans are waiting for Hurricane Sandy to strike at high tide this evening. In the meantime, we look at what it could mean for early voting and the crucial "ground games" of the President and Mitt Romney between now and election day.

Banner image: A car drives through water driven onto a roadway by Hurricane Sandy in Southampton, New York, October 29, 2012. Photo by Lucas Jackson/Reuters

President Obama has cancelled campaign appearances and returned to the White House to coordinate federal agencies working with states and localities. Saying the storm has "fatal potential," he warned those in the path to pay attention. "Please listen to what your state and local officials are saying. When they tell you to evacuate, you need to evacuate." Alex Sosnowski, expert senior meteorologist for AccuWeather, joins us from State College, Pennsylvania.

Photo: President Obama receives an update on the ongoing response to Hurricane Sandy at the National Response Coordination Center at FEMA headquarters in Washington, DC, October 28, 2012. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

Disaster response is already underway as tens of millions of Americans are hunkered down for the full impact of Hurricane Sandy late this evening. From the White House, President Obama said federal agencies are coordinating with states and localities to cope with winds, floods and power outages. Both he and Mitt Romney have reduced their campaign schedules in a race pollsters and pundits say is still too close to call. With just eight days remaining, what's the potential impact on the "ground game" so crucial in Ohio and other swing states that could decide the election?

The New York Stock Market is closed today -- and maybe tomorrow as well. Many businesses may be destroyed. Is there any upside to a major disaster? Hurricane Sandy is already history's largest storm north of the Carolinas, and the economic consequences are already clear. But Hurricane Sandy may ultimately have a mixed impact on business. That's according to Derek Thompson at The Atlantic.